Palermo is a city that has changed much over the past 9 months ….. but the last 2 months has seen unprecedented dramatic change as the COVID-19 2nd wave hits Europe. Italy is recording around 10,000+ new cases each day, the streets of Palermo are quiet as new restrictions were being implemented each week but are now being updated daily to try and contain the spread of the virus
Many of Deanes contacts have left the City to rural areas to find work
refugee camps were locked down 1km from our apartment with COVID-19
there are few Africans on the streets - they are fearful
Ministry and evangelism is suspended until March 2021
Our neighbours are fearful that we meet African people & will bring the virus to the building!
masks are now mandatory when leaving the home, even on our 10km walk!!
Sicilian tolerance of refugees is said to be at an all time low
Africans are being blamed for spreading the virus
Cafes, restaurants and bars are to close by 11pm
Social distancing is a must
Gathering of more than 6 people outside your family is prohibited.
The 18 months we have spent here in Sicily have been exciting & rewarding but also challenging as we have had no church fellowship or community. As many of you will have already heard God has laid on our hearts to change the location of our mission.
This is only a change of location .... it is not a change of heart for our mission to share Jesus, to help the needy, nor a change for the African people.
We realise a change of location may be a surprise to some of you, although everyone that knows Deane knows he loves farming, projects and the clean green - most people are amazed at how he has survived this long in the city.
We also know for our personal well-being that we need to leave the city and go to more of a community based opportunity for regular fellowship.
so as one door closes ……..
……. another door opens We feel God is moving us on to where there is a greater need and we have felt for some time that Deane needs to be doing practical ministry projects alongside Gospel work. There are no practical projects in the City of Palermo!
As you know, we have been involved in missions in Uganda since 2007 and God has laid it on our hearts to return to Uganda to help our Ugandan sons, Alex & Simon strengthen the ministry started there back in 2016. We did not look for this opportunity but with all the changes currently happening around the world and especially here in Palermo, there are many people that Alex & Simon meet who are hungry for God's word and physically starving. Deane has many contacts from North Uganda in refugee camps with no food or spiritual help. There is lots to do to help Alex and Simon - their ministry needs are great.
We have the opportunity to help with:-
Farming projects - pigs, aquaculture, chickens, crops and apiculture
Discipleship of young men
Teaching at monthly Pastor Conferences
Lungala Community Bible Church holds an English service
Bible studies for men and women
Encouragement & visitation to women in the village and church
Alex gets married in November and his new wife Christine is a nurse, she speaks english, as do many people in the local village and there is the opportunity to have a medical clinic down the track no pun intended!
God has really opened this door with both our family & prayer support team being 100% affirming of our change of location. We are really excited about the opportunity, Alex and Simon are over the moon, they told us they have been praying for 2 years that God would lead us back to help strengthen the ministry in Lungala.
FOODBAGS
Over the past 10 days we have been able to meet and give out final foodbags to many of our regular families and some of the young men that are still around. The resources for food have finished and it has been fantastic to be able to help feed the refugees/migrants and their families, plus it has given us an amazing opportunity to share Jesus with many people for the past 10 months .... 500+ foodbags have been distributed!!
THANK YOU to all who have donated to the foodbag project.
TEMPLE
was able to save enough money with his friend to secure a room, after fleeing the COVID-19 hit refugee camp and living on the streets & sleeping under the bridge for nearly a month. We were able to donate some beds & bedding, pots & pans etc from our apartment to help them - they painted and the room is all setup. Pray for Temple as his friend moved in, stayed one night, then decided he wanted to live in another part of town. Pray Temple will continue to be strong in his faith amid his trials & he will find a new room mate, that he will continue to earn some money parking cars so he can afford to go to Rome for his passport, then he can return to his wife and daughter in Nigeria.
CHRIS & HEIDI NESS We recently got to meet Chris & Heidi, USA missionaries in Messina. Great to hangout and talk (in English) for a couple of days ... felt like we'd known them forever!! They have a heart for Africa - having lived in Zambia, South Sudan and Ethiopia in the last 16 years, and 3 grownup kids, so we had much in common!
LAURA our Italian School Teacher
Lovely to see Laura again - school has changed for her, no refugees/migrants currently only elderly Italian people doing language. It was lovely to meet Laura, we will definitely keep in touch ... sad to say goodbye!
HADIM celebrated his 29th birthday recently, Deane cooked him dinner and he had his first ever birthday cake - candles and all !!
Hadim has been working "voluntarily" for the past 2 months in the hope of getting a permanent paid contract with the Company for his document renewal in January.
PRAISE & PRAYER
Thankful for:-
Life in Palermo & the opportunity to meet 250+ refugees/migrants from Africa and Bangladesh
Continued good health
Foodbags distributed over the past 10 months.
New opportunites in Uganda
Please pray for:-
Social Media ministry to 250+ people regularly with audios & gospel messages
Gospel Hope fb page
We remain COVID-19 free (especially as we need a negative test to enter Uganda, which must be done the day before we fly)
Wisdom when to book future flights
Travel plans dont get interrupted too much
Refugees/migrants and Italian people that we have met in Palermo - pray that the Gospel seed will take root in fertile soil
